Man guilty of lesser charge in drug killing

One of two men charged with the murder of a man found dead in his Kapiolani Boulevard apartment early this year was found guilty of the lesser charge of reckless manslaughter.

Curtis Ray Brooks, 32, was also convicted yesterday of first-degree robbery and kidnapping in the death of Ted Hiroshi Arifuku in a drug-related slaying.

Arifuku made his living selling drugs and was killed for them, according to police.

Arifuku's landlord found the 58-year-old man dead and face down with his hands tied behind his back in his apartment on Jan. 15. An autopsy showed Arifuku was strangled. An anonymous tipster led police to Brooks, who also named co-defendant Sistine "Paco" Rangamar. Rangamar committed suicide in prison.

Brooks faces 20 years in prison. Had he been convicted of second-degree murder, he would have faced life imprisonment with parole.